Emergency fire escape



May 8, 1956 c. v. FREELAND EMERGENCY FIRE ESCAPE Filed March 29, 1955 I N V EN T 0R. Ewan 2P IZFmszm.

arrows Unified ates Patent EMERGENCY FIRE ESCAPE Chester V. Freeland, San Francisco, Calif.

Application March 29, 1955, Serial No. 497,644

4 Claims. (Cl. 227-18) My present invention relates to a portable fire escape and more particularly to an emergency type of escape means for use in small hotels, residences, and the like where a permanent installed fire escape is not generally provided.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, compact, and inexpensive unit consisting of a suitable length of rope, a reel, and other accessories, which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and of such compact character that it may be conveniently stored under a bed, in a clothes closet, or at any point accessible to a window or other like point of exit.

Many lives are lost annually through neglect to provide such a simple expedient as a length of rope by which a party might escape from a second or third story window in case of a fire. This neglect is not generally due to the expense of such equipment, but rather results from a lack of convenience in storing such a means. Where no more than a length of rope is provided the rope is often used for purposes other than as a means of escape and it is therefore not available when an emergency occurs. It is therefore another object of my invention to provide a compact unit which will not only provide the desired length of rope but will include other accessories, and be so arranged that it may be conveniently stored in a minimum of space and in such a manner that its use for any purpose other than that for which it is intended will be discouraged.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part evident to those skilled in the art and part pointed out hereinafter in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein there is shown, by way of illustration and not of limitation, a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing,

Figure l is a fragmentary view showing details of the device at one end of the rope,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, looking at the side thereof,

Figure 3 is a front View of the completely assembled unit,

Figure 4 is a view showing the back of the device of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a side view of the completely assembled unit as shown in Figure 3 of the drawing.

As shown in the drawing, the numeral designates a length of rope which may range anywhere from thirty to fifty feet in length, and it will preferably. be composed of /5" manila hemp. At uniformly spaced points preferably 12" apart the rope 10 is provided with knots 11 to facilitate the use thereof in descending therealong. At its upper end the rope 10 carries a swivel 12 with a snap-hook 13 which engages an eyelet 14 carried by a window sill engaging hook 15. In this instance the swivel 12 is also shown as carrying a second snap-hook 16 to which a belt or harness 17 may be attached for use in a manner to be hereinafter described.

In order to provide an arrangement which may be conveniently transported and stored and be available when required, I show the rope 10 as coiled upon a suitable reel 18. This reel has flange 19 at one end which carries clips 20 by which the hook 15 may be secured thereupon without detachment from the rope 10 when the latter is fully coiled upon the reel 18. To accommodate the belt 17 I also show the flange 19 as having a clamping bar 21 that is buttoned over a stud 22 by means of a keyhole slot 23 formed therein. In this manner it can be seen when the rope 10 is fully coiled upon the reel 18 and the hook 15 is secured to the end flange 19 as here shown and with the belt 17 coiled upon itself as indicated and disposed under the clamp bar 21 the entire assembly will form a compact unit which may be carried about without danger of becoming entangled. In order to facilitate the carrying of the reel 18 from one location to another I have also shown the flange 19 as having three notches 24 which are wrapped with cord as indicated at 25 to provide a hand grip. In a similar manner, as shown in Figure 4 in the drawing, the other flange of the reel 18, designated by the numeral 26, is provided with four wrapped hand grips 27.

A further feature of the invention, which will become evident upon reference to Figure 5 of the drawing, resides in the provision of intermediate annular disc-like partitions 28 between the end flanges 18 and 26 of the reel 18. The spacing of these disc-like members 28 is such that it will accommodate a single spiral coil of the rope 10 with its knots 11 and by virtue of the knots there will also be provided a sufficient clearance for the laying in of a continuation of the rope 10 from one of the preceding spaces to the root of the next space where a subsequent spiral coil of the rope may be wound until the entire length thereof has been coiled about the reel 18 with its hook engaging end in such a position that when the hook 15 is secured upon the reel an uncoiling of the rope 10 will be prevented. As an additional precaution it is contemplated that the rope 10 may be rendered fire resistant by any of the well-known treatments, and to protect the entire assemblywhen laid flat upon the floor as under a bed or the like, or hung upon a suitable hook by means of one of the grips 27, I may provide a suitable metallic or transparent plastic cover.

With my improved fire escape it will be seen that should a person, or persons, be trapped in a room, as in the event of a fire, with the normal means of exit blocked, such a party could easily escape from the room by letting himself down the rope, either to the ground or to a floor or two below should the fire be confined to an upper story. In the event that two or more persons should be so trapped it would be a simple matter to disconnect the hook 15 and under these circumstances uncoil the rope and use the safety belt, or harness 17, by which a party, for example a child or someone who might be unable to use the rope, could be lowered to a point of safety after which the rope could be retracted and attached to the hook for the escape of the last of any such number of persons.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that the same can be readily understood, described and illustrated a specific device and arrangement, I desire to have it understood that this invention is not limited to the specific means disclosed, but may be embodied in other forms that will suggest themselves to persons skilled in the art. It is believed that this invention is new and all such changes as come within the scope of the appended claims are to be consideredas part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an emergency fire escape, the combination of a length of rope having a window sill engaging hook at one end, a reel upon which said rope may be wound having a hub and end flanges, means carried by an end flange of said reel for securing said window sill engaging hook flat-Wise thereupon and preventing an uncoiling of said rope when said hook is so secured, and intermediately disposed annular partitions spaced along the hub of said rcel between its end flanges, the spacing of said annular intermediate partitions being suflicient to accommodate a fiat spiral coil of said rope and a continuation of the length of rope from a preceding space when being wound upon said reel.

2. In an emergency fire escape, the combination of a length of rope having knots spaced throughout its length, a window sill engaging hook detachably secured to one end of said rope, a reel upon which said rope may be wound having a hub and end flanges, means carried by an end flange of said reel for securing said window sill engaging hook fiat-wise thereupon and preventing an uncoiling of said rope when said hook is so secured, and intermediate annular partitions spaced along the hub of said reel between its end flanges, the spacing of said annular intermediate partitions being only sufficient to accommodate a single flat spiral coil of said rope with its knots and a continuation of the length of rope from a preceding space when being wound upon said reel.

3. in an emergency fire escape, the combination of a length of rope having a snap-hook carrying swivel at one end and knots spaced uniformly throughout its length, a window sill engaging hook having a snap-hook accommodating eyelet for attachment to said swivel, a reel upon which said rope may be wound having a hub and end flanges, a plurality of intermediate annular partitions disposed along the hub of said reel between its end flanges, the spacing of said intermediate partitions being suflicient to accommodate a fiat spiral coil of said rope with its knots and a continuation of the length of rope from a preceding space when being wound upon said reel, a safety belt having a snap-hook eyelet for attachment to said swivel, and means carried by an end flange v of said reel for securing said window sill engaging hook and said safety belt thereupon when said rope is coiled upon said reel with said hook and said safety belt attached thereto.

4. In an emergency fire escape, the combination of a length of rope having a snap-hook carrying swivel at one end and knots spaced uniformly throughout its length, a window sill engaging hook having a snap-hook accommodating eyelet for attachment to said swivel, a reel upon which said rope may be wound having a hub and end flanges, a plurality of intermediate annular partitions disposed along the hub of said reel between its end flanges, the spacing of said intermediate partitions being sufficient to accommodate a flat spiral coil of said rope with its knots and a continuation of the length of rope from a preceding space when being wound upon said reel, :1 safety belt having a snap-hook eyelet for attachment to said swivel, a plurality of fixed clips upon a flange of said reel under which said hook is removably secured flat-wise upon said flange, a stud having an enlarged head projecting centrally from said flange, and a clamping bar having a key-hole slot adapted and arranged to engage said stud and secure said belt in a coiled condition upon said flange.

No references cited. 

